San Francisco expects to hit food composting milestone

Nov. 22 -- Food composting in San Francisco is expected to reach a milestone today.

Recology said it could collect the 1 millionth ton of food scraps when it makes a pickup at Scoma’s Restaurant, according to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.

The city made composting mandatory in 2009, becoming the first in the U.S. city to require residents and businesses to sort their food waste, according to the paper.

The scraps are turned into soil and distributed to northern California farms and vineyards.

Robert Reed, a spokesman for Recology, told the Chronicle that San Francisco´s diversion rate is 78%.

Residents have to separate the waste into three categories: trash, recycling and green waste, according to the paper.

Recycling and composting is free while the trash fee depends on the size of the collection bin.

"San Francisco has embraced urban composting," Reed said. "Once people found out it was like recycling and that it´s easy to do in this city, it took off."

Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Vince Bond Jr. at vbond@crain.com or 313-446-1653.

w w w . w a s t e r e c y c l i n g n e w s . c o m